Page 9 of What if It's Us

I take a quick breath and then swallow a few gulps of water before I tell her what’s on my mind. The truth will come out at some point anyway so I may as well just say it.

“So, a few nights ago we were in New Orleans for Oliver and Scarlett’s wedding.”

“Right,” she says, lifting her glass to her mouth. “A friend of mine covered their story.”

“So, I was dancing with Ledger Dayne at the reception and Layken Ollenberg comes waltzing over with Griffin and says something to me about considering Ledger as a possible sperm donor.”

Blakely’s sip of water comes shooting out of her mouth. Her brows arch and her eyes grow huge. “Oh, my God! Sorry!” Shewipes her mouth with her napkin. “Are you talking about Ledger Dayne, Anaheim Star left wing? That Ledger Dayne?”

“Mhmm,” I say, watching her, amused but no less confused.

Her eyes narrow. “Have you guys…”

“Nope.”

“Never?”

“Have I ever slept with Ledger?” I shake my head. “Hell no. I don’t make it a point to sleep with anyone at work, most of all one of the high-profile players. Are you crazy?”

She shrugs. “I mean it’s not like the man isn’t hot as balls. If he looked my way, I’m not sure I could keep myself from looking back.”

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” I tell her. “He’s definitely an attractive guy, but why would Layken even say that to me in his presence unless they were talking about it beforehand and he was interested?”

“So, Layken told him?”

“He said she mentioned it, but it’s not like he offered right then and there on the dance floor, you know? It’s not like he dipped me and said, ‘My sperm bank is at capacity and needs to clear out its inventory. Care to accept a large deposit?’”

Blakely nearly chokes on her laugh. “Oh, my God what if he had said that?”

I laugh right along with her. “I would’ve snorted. One hundred percent. But coming from a guy like Ledger Dayne, I probably would’ve thought he was kidding and shrugged it off as Ledger Dayne’s flirting humor. I’ve seen some of those guys flirt like the pros they are.”

“Have you seen Ledger flirting with women?”

“Of cou—hmm…” I cock my head, my brows pulling together. “Actually, now that I think about it, I can’t say that I have with certainty. I’ve seen him laughing with the guys at the bar after a game, but unless he has some other plan I don’t know about, andnot that I’ve spent any amount of time stalking him, I think he always just heads to his hotel room afterwards.”

“And you don’t spend time hanging with the guys after games?”

“Nah. I usually keep to the front office team. I suppose that might change now that Layken is with us and she’s married to a player but in seasons past, nope. Never.”

“Does Ledger have feelings for you or something?”

I shake my head. “No. Not that I know of. Why would he?”

“I don’t know,” she says. “Just asking. Trying to figure this all out.”

“I mean listen, if Ledger Dayne would’ve waltzed into my office at any point and asked me out, I doubt I would’ve ever said no but,” I shrug, “I don’t know. It’s weird.” We sit staring at each other silently and then I ask, “It’s weird. Right?”

Blakely takes a deep breath and releases it as she considers her answer. “Yeah I guess it’s weird but then what if Layken was being serious? Would Ledger make cute babies?”

I scoff. “Uh, have you seen the man? Yes. His babies will be gorgeous.”

“Healthy past?” Blakely asks. “Healthy family?”

“I guess I don’t really know but I haven’t heard anything to the contrary. We’ve honestly never spent a huge deal of time together.”

“Does he want kids? That’s probably a big question you’ll have to ask him because if you’re wanting to be a single mom and raise this child on your own, but he also wants kids in his future, he might not like the idea of having to see his own flesh and blood running around the arena when he doesn’t have parental rights.”

“Yeah.” I sigh. “I guess you’re right.”

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